Sorry I’m new to this channel but really glad I found it. I’ve just come off a month of burnout that took me by surprise. I knew I was tired, but as a full time working mum with two kids and also in Melbourne, where this chap is from, all the lockdowns and trying to process childhood trauma at the same time, tired is just what I knew. Then at the start of this year I woke up one day and my body/brain just stopped working. Spent 2.5 weeks in bed in a dark room because everything was overwhelming. Couldn’t even look at my phone because contemplating icons was too much. Had already ended up in hospital late last year because my body would shake uncontrollably and I didn’t know what was happening. As soon as I was somewhere dark and quiet, I would start to feel normal again. Started digging into a few things and discovered autistic burnout. For context, my son is autistic, and we share a lot of similar behaviours. Finding so many people with so many similar stories has pushed me to start seeking my own diagnosis. But it’s so helpful to understand what is happening.
Thank you for everything you said here. I was able to avoid a major burnout in 2022 without ever taking a significant break by recognizing I was right on the brink (it's happened at least three times before in my adult life and at least once in childhood so I am better at telling it's coming now) and throwing every strategy that had ever worked for me at it and just going slow. I started getting community acupuncture twice weekly and worked with my provider until we figured out what treatments were most effective at sedating my nervous system and helping me think. I got deep tissue massage monthly for a time. I spent a ton of time in my garden doing major physical labor, was very thoughtful about taking care of my sensory needs, and told my friends I wanted to be included in things but needed the freedom to cancel at the last minute if I was overloaded and needed to rest. It was truly a community effort. I was working full time throughout and getting formally diagnosed AuDHD at the age of 44. I've never moved back from the brink this fast in my life. My change circuits are still not fully recharged but I'm managing and I'm so grateful. My therapist had read your book and was instrumental in helping me stay the course!
I think for a lot of people (myself included) "taking weeks off to rest" is really just equivalent to "being too disabled to work". Burnout making me lose speech, when my previous work was online teaching and podcasting, has meant I have had literally no choice but to stop working. I AM very lucky to have my girlfriend able to support me financially (plus I could always move back in with my parents), but being unemployed and semi-housebound is not great for mental health, of course.
Yes, my burnout put me in the hospital twice, and that was 100% my body saying it had taken too much and I needed to make some *changes*. I'm so happy to hear you've had support to take the time you need. That makes all the difference.
Thanks for this dissection. I watched Paul's video about a year ago and found it useful but your comments are coming at the right time cos I realise I don't really know how to rest. What is restorative for me? I'm autistic and adhd and the latter really seems to make resting hard for me. Before getting long covid 3 years ago I was able to be a sprinter but ever since, combined with stress of being a new parent and poor sleep, I'm just not able to function as I once was. I think it's really helpful to break down this idea of the "eat pray love" mentality - because I have kinda had that desire, even though it's not possible for me. I have some friends who either chose or were forced to take a very extended period of rest and off work and have been a bit envious but realistically not doable for me. So I need to get thinking about what I can do with less time that's more effective...
So the short term version paul mentions in the beginning, from what I've read, the research identifies that as 'autistic fatigue', whilst a much deeper and longer lasting (3 months or more) they say is autistic burnout
I've been wondering why I can't tell the difference between Emily and Amelia by looking at the thumbnail and when the other is hosting and i put it down to my face-blindness. Took me a while to recall they're twins and therefore twinning.
I really don't agree with you. It isn't always possible to avoid burnout. I've tried all the techniques you mention and many many more over six decades, so I consider myself an expert in my own tendency to burnout. And I've built a life around what works for me, but I still get burnt out. As you get older, the challenges of autism can lead to difficult life circumstances, which in itself can lead to a greater tendency to burnout. I don't consider myself an expert in anyone else's burnout by the way, nor would I presume to be. We're all very different. And sometimes you can't avoid overwhelming stress - what if someone you love dies, you lose your job, you have ongoing financial problems. You can do all the deep breathing, chopping wood, going for walks you like, but for me, burnout is inevitably on its way. Honestly, you come over as very patronising and rather dismissive of Paul's experience. Which for an autistic person, is such a common, ongoing thing, more of the same isn't helpful.
Assuming the Melbourne referred to in the video is the one in Australia, permanent employees in Australia are entitled to at least 4 weeks annual leave per year, plus 2 weeks sick/carers/personal leave. Plus that leave doesn't time out, it automatically rolls over. Employers can make you take annual leave or pay your annual leave out if you've got too much, but sick leave never stops accumulating while you remain with that employer. You can only run out of sick leave by using it up. So if you take less leave one year, you can take more leave the next year. Some employers will also allow employees to 'buy' extra leave ( if you 'buy' a weeks leave, you give up the pay you would have earned that week, but it's spread out across the year instead of all at once). Australian employees are also entitled to long service leave if they remain with a single employer for a significant period. The period of time required to earn long service leave can vary based on state and whether there's a special employment agreement in place, but I don't think it can be any longer than 10 years. Once you qualify for long service leave, you get a bunch of weeks of long service leave all at once and then you get a smaller top up to your long service leave each year afterwards. Long service leave can also be taken at half pay, which lets you stay on leave twice as long. Unfortunately, most of the above only applies to permanent employees and there's currently far too many people who are considered casual employees despite having the expectations and responsibilities of permanent employees. Casual workers don't get paid leave at all (except maybe long service leave? not sure). But for those who are considered permanent, while not everyone is going to be in a position to take weeks to months off to recover from burn out when they need to, taking 2 weeks off is probably doable for a good portion of permanent employees and up to a couple of months may be possible for some.
Wow, Australia! If more countries had this much protection for workers, there would probably be less employment burnout. Of course, I suspect American companies would immediately make all employees temporary if the US tried to help the rest of us. :-/ And time off from work isn't time off from adulting/parenting, which is just as stressful as paid work for lots of folks.
@@amelianp That's pretty much what lots of Australian companies have been doing. Making jobs that should be full-time permanent positions temporary/casual jobs to get out of providing leave and other benefits, or the old 'they're not an employee, they're an independent contractor" gem. Meanwhile pretending that this is happening because "millennials just really love flexibility". They government's working on trying to fix that though.
![[Live สด] การออกรางวัลสลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล งวดวันที่ 16 ธันวาคม 2567](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dNTiBBthKgQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Sorry I’m new to this channel but really glad I found it. I’ve just come off a month of burnout that took me by surprise. I knew I was tired, but as a full time working mum with two kids and also in Melbourne, where this chap is from, all the lockdowns and trying to process childhood trauma at the same time, tired is just what I knew. Then at the start of this year I woke up one day and my body/brain just stopped working. Spent 2.5 weeks in bed in a dark room because everything was overwhelming. Couldn’t even look at my phone because contemplating icons was too much. Had already ended up in hospital late last year because my body would shake uncontrollably and I didn’t know what was happening. As soon as I was somewhere dark and quiet, I would start to feel normal again. Started digging into a few things and discovered autistic burnout. For context, my son is autistic, and we share a lot of similar behaviours. Finding so many people with so many similar stories has pushed me to start seeking my own diagnosis. But it’s so helpful to understand what is happening.
Thank you for everything you said here. I was able to avoid a major burnout in 2022 without ever taking a significant break by recognizing I was right on the brink (it's happened at least three times before in my adult life and at least once in childhood so I am better at telling it's coming now) and throwing every strategy that had ever worked for me at it and just going slow. I started getting community acupuncture twice weekly and worked with my provider until we figured out what treatments were most effective at sedating my nervous system and helping me think. I got deep tissue massage monthly for a time. I spent a ton of time in my garden doing major physical labor, was very thoughtful about taking care of my sensory needs, and told my friends I wanted to be included in things but needed the freedom to cancel at the last minute if I was overloaded and needed to rest. It was truly a community effort. I was working full time throughout and getting formally diagnosed AuDHD at the age of 44. I've never moved back from the brink this fast in my life. My change circuits are still not fully recharged but I'm managing and I'm so grateful. My therapist had read your book and was instrumental in helping me stay the course!
I think for a lot of people (myself included) "taking weeks off to rest" is really just equivalent to "being too disabled to work". Burnout making me lose speech, when my previous work was online teaching and podcasting, has meant I have had literally no choice but to stop working. I AM very lucky to have my girlfriend able to support me financially (plus I could always move back in with my parents), but being unemployed and semi-housebound is not great for mental health, of course.
Yes, my burnout put me in the hospital twice, and that was 100% my body saying it had taken too much and I needed to make some *changes*. I'm so happy to hear you've had support to take the time you need. That makes all the difference.
Thanks for this dissection. I watched Paul's video about a year ago and found it useful but your comments are coming at the right time cos I realise I don't really know how to rest. What is restorative for me? I'm autistic and adhd and the latter really seems to make resting hard for me. Before getting long covid 3 years ago I was able to be a sprinter but ever since, combined with stress of being a new parent and poor sleep, I'm just not able to function as I once was. I think it's really helpful to break down this idea of the "eat pray love" mentality - because I have kinda had that desire, even though it's not possible for me. I have some friends who either chose or were forced to take a very extended period of rest and off work and have been a bit envious but realistically not doable for me. So I need to get thinking about what I can do with less time that's more effective...
So the short term version paul mentions in the beginning, from what I've read, the research identifies that as 'autistic fatigue', whilst a much deeper and longer lasting (3 months or more) they say is autistic burnout
I've been wondering why I can't tell the difference between Emily and Amelia by looking at the thumbnail and when the other is hosting and i put it down to my face-blindness. Took me a while to recall they're twins and therefore twinning.
I really don't agree with you. It isn't always possible to avoid burnout. I've tried all the techniques you mention and many many more over six decades, so I consider myself an expert in my own tendency to burnout. And I've built a life around what works for me, but I still get burnt out. As you get older, the challenges of autism can lead to difficult life circumstances, which in itself can lead to a greater tendency to burnout. I don't consider myself an expert in anyone else's burnout by the way, nor would I presume to be. We're all very different. And sometimes you can't avoid overwhelming stress - what if someone you love dies, you lose your job, you have ongoing financial problems. You can do all the deep breathing, chopping wood, going for walks you like, but for me, burnout is inevitably on its way. Honestly, you come over as very patronising and rather dismissive of Paul's experience. Which for an autistic person, is such a common, ongoing thing, more of the same isn't helpful.
Assuming the Melbourne referred to in the video is the one in Australia, permanent employees in Australia are entitled to at least 4 weeks annual leave per year, plus 2 weeks sick/carers/personal leave. Plus that leave doesn't time out, it automatically rolls over. Employers can make you take annual leave or pay your annual leave out if you've got too much, but sick leave never stops accumulating while you remain with that employer. You can only run out of sick leave by using it up. So if you take less leave one year, you can take more leave the next year. Some employers will also allow employees to 'buy' extra leave ( if you 'buy' a weeks leave, you give up the pay you would have earned that week, but it's spread out across the year instead of all at once).
Australian employees are also entitled to long service leave if they remain with a single employer for a significant period. The period of time required to earn long service leave can vary based on state and whether there's a special employment agreement in place, but I don't think it can be any longer than 10 years. Once you qualify for long service leave, you get a bunch of weeks of long service leave all at once and then you get a smaller top up to your long service leave each year afterwards. Long service leave can also be taken at half pay, which lets you stay on leave twice as long.
Unfortunately, most of the above only applies to permanent employees and there's currently far too many people who are considered casual employees despite having the expectations and responsibilities of permanent employees. Casual workers don't get paid leave at all (except maybe long service leave? not sure). But for those who are considered permanent, while not everyone is going to be in a position to take weeks to months off to recover from burn out when they need to, taking 2 weeks off is probably doable for a good portion of permanent employees and up to a couple of months may be possible for some.
Wow, Australia! If more countries had this much protection for workers, there would probably be less employment burnout. Of course, I suspect American companies would immediately make all employees temporary if the US tried to help the rest of us. :-/
And time off from work isn't time off from adulting/parenting, which is just as stressful as paid work for lots of folks.
@@amelianp That's pretty much what lots of Australian companies have been doing. Making jobs that should be full-time permanent positions temporary/casual jobs to get out of providing leave and other benefits, or the old 'they're not an employee, they're an independent contractor" gem. Meanwhile pretending that this is happening because "millennials just really love flexibility". They government's working on trying to fix that though.
Yeah, academics have a "joke," that goes "I love how flexible my job is -- I can work my 80 hours a week any time I want!"
This comment is more of a placeholder as I go through the rest of your videos, but I’m curious how long covid affected your work and then crash style
Currently ongoing unfortunately.
Maybe I've missed it, can you let me know the title of the book?
Her book is called "Burnout - the secret to unlocking the stress cycle".
@@charlyheather1822 Thank you so much! I am wanting to research into this area, so I appreciate this.